


Echoes

by IncubusJasper



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort, Doubt, Emotional Baggage, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Human Wheatley, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Nightmares, Paranoia, Post-Portal 2, Psychological Trauma, Romantic Angst, Romantic Fluff, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23554597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncubusJasper/pseuds/IncubusJasper
Summary: Chell's nightmares aren't just figments of her imagination. | A domestic Chelley ficlet.
Relationships: Chell & Wheatley (Portal), Chell/Wheatley (Portal)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 77





	Echoes

Wheatley slowly blinked awake. Although his mind was still wrapped in a thick fog of sleep, he could sense that something was amiss. The problem presented itself when he rolled over to see that Chell wasn’t in bed beside him anymore. Sitting up, he reached for his glasses on the nightstand and slipped them onto his face, once more blinking to adjust his sight in the room. Soft, pale moonlight dappled the walls of the bedroom, allowing just enough light for Wheatley to see his way out of the room. Heading down the hallway towards the landing, he switched the lights on to their lowest setting.

_Bloody good idea gettin' dimmer switches installed._ He thought. _Why aren’t all lights like that?_

Treading carefully down the stairs, he crept as quietly as he could towards the kitchen. If he didn’t find her along the way, he’d put the kettle on.

_Good ol' cuppa, always soothes the nerves._

Fully awake now and capable of coherent thought again, Wheatley was about to reach for the kitchen light when he was stopped by an unmistakable sound. Sobbing, soft and forlorn.

“Living room...” he mumbled in recognition under his breath, turning from the doorway and heading towards the sound. Reaching the front room, he saw the silhouette of his beloved partner doubled over on the sofa, knees clutched to her chest so tightly they could break. His heart dropped inside his chest at the sight of her. As if to clear his thoughts, he ruffled his hair and crossed the room to sit beside her on the couch. “Luv, what’s wrong?” he whispered gently.

Chell’s body unfurled slowly. She said nothing, but a whimper escaped her throat, betraying her fragility. She sniffled, wiping her eyes on her sleeves and pressing her palms against her eyelids as she sat up next to him. She hated feeling like this. She hated anyone – especially _him_ – seeing her so... _weak_. Unable to bring herself to look him in the eye, she opted instead to lean against his side. Wheatley may have been skinny as a rake, but to Chell, his body was perfectly sculpted to fit with hers. No amount of pointy joints or pokey ribs could tarnish or outweigh the comfort she felt whenever she was close to him like this. As he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she let out a shaky breath, bringing on a flood of fresh tears.

_Damn it._

“Alright,” Wheatley released Chell's shoulder, pulling back so that he could look at her properly. “Luv, look at me. Please.” She hesitantly peered up at him, wincing as though she expected something bad to happen upon eye contact. “I only want to help, sweetheart.” They stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like hours. Wheatley’s eyes were huge and pleading, desperate for answers. Chell’s were terrified and shining with tears. Languidly, she dropped her head in defeat. It was no use trying to keep secrets; he was too curious and she was a pushover when it came to him.

“Fine,” came her voice, barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t sleep.” She lifted her head slightly, carefully watching his expression.

“Luv...” he frowned. “It’s not just that, is it? I’m _pretty_ sure insomnia doesn’t do this. Unless it does, in which case, I might be mixing up my sleep conditions again. Point being, there’s more buggin’ you, c’mon.”

Chell giggle-sniffed in response to his endless ability to be endearingly naïve in any given situation. It was part of his natural charm that had made her fall in love with him in the first place. “Yeah, there’s more, I just-” she shook her head. “I don’t want you to think I’m stupid. Or _brain damaged_.” She smirked mildly as she emphasised the words. He rolled his eyes, matching her vague-but-definitely-there smirk. “I did get some sleep. Not a lot, but enough for some repressed memories to come back to the surface in the form of bizarre nightmares, apparently. Next thing I knew... I was awake, panicking, and drenched in sweat. I could hear those goddamn turrets again, I could feel the heat emanating from those lasers so close to my skin-” She sighed heavily, lower lip starting to quiver. She swallowed hard and pressed on. “It felt too real. Because for a little while, I let myself relax, and then I ended up back there. The moment I let my guard down, I’m in danger again.” Looking more directly at Wheatley’s face now, she awaited a response.

“Oh, darlin’, no...” he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “That place is gone. We’re safe now, _you’re_ safe! And you always will be. I promi-”

“But what if we’re not?” Chell cut him off, fear and uncertainty creeping over her once again. “H-how can we ever know for sure? Am I really free?” she began to sob openly. Her body trembled. “Or are we still there? Is the sky going to collapse one day and show us that we never left? I know I’m going crazy because I don’t feel like I can trust _anything_ anymore. Even... you, sometimes.”

Now it was Wheatley’s turn to look hurt. “ _Me?_ What did I do?” Chell raised a tentative eyebrow. He bit his tongue, casting his memory back to the early days. “Oh. Oh, right, yes. _That_. Erm, I-I thought- I thought we’d gotten past that? It’s been years, luv, and I don’t mean to make you feel bad, but that hurts. For you to say you don’t trust me, after all this time and everything that’s happened since? I’m not gonna lie to you, my heart hurts.”

“No, Wheatley, that’s not- I didn’t mean it like that.” Chell wiped her eyes again and tried to reach for his hand, but he flinched. He looked away this time, and the flood of guilt that washed over Chell threatened to drown her. She reached out her hand again, this time to touch his face. He didn’t resist. She turned his head gently to face her again and he responded by nuzzling his cheek against her palm and placing his hand over hers, rubbing it gently with his thumb. She managed a small smile. “I love you. I’m sorry, I forgot that that place holds just as big a trauma for you as it does for me. I think that my subconscious hasn’t gotten the message yet and is scared that you’re gonna stab me in the back again, even though my conscious mind knows you won’t. Okay? I believe in you, I trust you, I _know_ you’d never do that again.” He looked at her with his big doe eyes, making her heart ache. She propped herself up on her knees for a height boost as he tilted his head down to meet hers, touching their foreheads together. She closed her eyes, and he followed suit. “You’re _my_ Wheatley. Always.”

“...I love you too.” He broke his silence. Opening his eyes to see hers fixated on him with warmth, he smiled back at her, taking his free hand and touching her face in the same way as she was still holding his. “Believe me when I tell you with my whole heart – you _are_ safe. _We_ are safe. And I have to believe that, because I wouldn’t be able to get up every day if I didn’t.” He sighed, wiping away her tears with the tip of his thumb. “For both of us, yeah? We both need and deserve to leave that old life and trouble far, far behind. Everything we have right now, I could never have even dreamed of back then. Now? I wouldn’t be able to imagine any other life. Is- is that good enough? Can we just stay like this, happy and human and alive? Together?” She nodded. “Great! Uh, because honestly, I- I literally do not know how to function without you. So, that’s a relief.”

“Oh, come here, dummy.” Chell laughed. A warm, happy laugh. “You know what? Even if the sky were fake, I wouldn’t care anymore. A life with you would be worth it. Not that I’m saying I want it that way though, I’d prefer if we _were_ actually free. Which I choose to believe we are.” She paused, wondering when she’d started picking up his speech pattern. She discarded the thought, filing it away for later with a half-smile and held his face in both hands. The hand he’d held against hers gently retreated to his side as the other stroked her cheek.

_She’s so gorgeous._ Wheatley thought. _Hang about. This would be one of those perfect moments to..._

Their lips met. Soft, warm, and full of love.

“That felt real enough to me,” he grinned broadly at her. “Your verdict, luv?”

“ _Definitely_ real.” Whispered Chell, compelled to grin back at him.

“Shall we go back to bed? Oh, um, or,” he readjusted his glasses. “I-I’ll put the kettle on, if you want a cuppa?”

“A cup of tea would be lovely right now, honey. Thank you.”

“Right, back in a minute!” Wheatley stood up, leaned over to plant a kiss on Chell’s forehead, then sprinted to the kitchen. Chell watched him go, chuckling softly.

The sound of her own laugh gave her pause. It reminded Chell a little too much of _Her_. Her brow furrowed as negative thoughts began to cloud her mind once more.

_Like mother, like daughter._ Chimed a little voice in the back of her mind.

“ _It’s been fun. Don’t come back.”_

The trembling returned, uninvited.

_No, no, no, NO!_

Chell screwed her eyes shut and clutched at her sleeves.

_Not again, can’t do it again, can’t go back-_

_get out get out get out-_

“Hey...”

Just like that, it was gone. Darkness banished; clarity restored. The quiet clatter of two mugs hitting coasters beside her was of some comfort, but nothing was as effective as his voice. His presence. She hadn’t realised up until tonight just how much she truly needed him. How much they needed _each other_. Her eyes shot open and a sudden calm fell over her body as they rested on him. As soon as his hands were free, Chell stood up and hugged him tightly. Her head rested against his chest in just the right place that she could hear his heartbeat. She sighed with a mix of contentment and relief.

“Oh!” Wheatley exclaimed in joyful surprise. “Blimey! ‘Ello, luv! You feeling better, then?” She nodded, still firmly pressed up against him. “Erm, I’ll take that as a yes.” He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tenderly.

When they came apart to look at one another, they simply smiled with the kind of warmth most often seen shared between elderly couples or falsified on a silver screen. Except this was real, and despite their youthful appearances and years experienced in the waking world, they were practically museum pieces. Chell sat down in the corner of the worn couch, grabbing her mug from the table and tucking her legs under her, inviting Wheatley for a cuddle. He obliged. They stayed that way, in near-silence, while they enjoyed their tea and each other’s company.

When their mugs were empty and they started to feel a chill in the air, their bodies slowly untangled.

“I don’t know about you, luv, but I’m really tired. Proper, proper shattered. Reckon we could, um, go back to bed?” He gave her his best pleading puppy eyes. She opened her mouth for a moment as if to reply, then decided against it and shook her head. “N-no?” Wheatley was confused.

“Ah, that’s not... I was just thinking. Sorry. Of course you’re tired, I didn’t mean to keep you up. That was short-sighted of me. _No,_ it- it was selfish. I’m sorry.” Chell took a deep breath and rubbed her temples. “Please do go back to bed, I don’t want to keep you up any longer. Just because I can’t sleep doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself.”

“Luv.” Wheatley’s voice came out more sternly than either of them had expected. Not unkind, but uncharacteristically authoritative. “That’s not gonna happen. You need me more than I need sleep right now. I can catch up on missed sleep later, but you’re not- you- you don’t- oh, why are words so _hard?_ Point is, I want to be here for you, I’m not goin’ to bed and just leavin’ you ‘ere.” He pushed his glasses up his nose, a frown deepening on his face as he realised something. “Hang on. I’ve just twigged. Are you... avoiding the bedroom?”

“That obvious?” she groaned. “It’s not because of you, y’know, before you get worried.”

“Why, then?”

“Beds make me uncomfortable. Not physically, but,” Chell began absentmindedly scratching her arm through her sleeve. “Waking up in _there_. Especially the last time, on the day I met you. It looked just like a mundane bedroom. Every time I go to sleep and wake up, the fear is still there that life will go from normal to death trap in a split second again. Sometimes, looking at our room or being anywhere _near_ a bed is mental torment. I can’t explain why my brain does these things other than I know it all stems from deep trauma. Tonight, it all kind of cascaded and became unbearable. I’m sorry.”

Wheatley held Chell’s hand to restrain her from scratching. Left unchecked, she wouldn’t have stopped until blood had been drawn. They exchanged a glance and he let go, standing and drawing himself up to his full height. Completely by reflex, Chell flinched. She hoped he hadn’t noticed.

_She can’t help that._ He thought. _But maybe I can. Help, that is. With the recovery. Yeah. Somethin' like that._

“Gimme a minute.” He said as he hurried away down the hall.

Chell swallowed hard and grabbed a sofa cushion, clutching it to her chest. She suddenly felt very small and cold. Had she not been so exhausted, she might have started crying again. She would’ve given anything in that moment to feel normal. There was, however, no time to wallow in those feelings before an audible commotion started up from the direction Wheatley had rushed off in.

“Aaagh, no!” His voice sounded like it was coming from the direction of the staircase. Chell’s ears pricked up in curiosity. “No, don’t d- oh, _bollo-_ ”

_THUD_.

“I’m alright!” Came his voice after a few seconds of disconcerting silence. “Just a minute, I’m a little, erm,” he laughed awkwardly. “Well, it’s nothin’ serious. I’ll be right over!”

Chell threw the pillow cushion to the opposite end of the couch and leaned over the back of the sofa just in time to see Wheatley dragging the duvet from their bed over his shoulder. Then she noticed the two pillows under his other arm.

“What in the world...?” Her words trailed off into a quiet, confused laugh.

“We both need sleep, you don’t like beds, I’m not leaving you, so I’m bringing the bed to you. Y’know, words. Words that mean, basically, if you want, we can sleep on the sofa tonight if you’d be more comfortable that way. Which I probably should have asked _before_ I went and retrieved the bedding, come to think of it. Daft move on my part, I s’pose.” Chell just smiled at him and nodded in approval, too tired to speak anymore. Words never seemed to do much good. Except for when they came from him. “Alright, great!”

Wheatley dropped the pillows and dragged the duvet over to Chell, who was still propped up by her elbows on the back of the sofa. “Get warm and cosy, luv.” He handed it to her, going back to retrieve the pillows. She shuffled over to give him space to lie down first as he placed a pillow against the arm of the sofa. He decided to leave the other one on the coffee table in case one of them needed it later. Once he was comfortably settled, Chell wasted no time snuggling up to him and lying her head on his chest. He held her protectively in his arms, and it felt like there was nothing more natural in the world than that. Somehow, in some inexplicable way, they belonged together.

Their world finally felt at peace. Chell’s panic and fear dissolved away, replaced by a renewed sense of safety. Wheatley’s doubts gave way to certainty and even a little pride. He was getting better at making the right decisions. It didn’t take long for the exhausted pair to drift off into a deep and well-deserved sleep. _This_ was what home felt like.

**Author's Note:**

> This took longer to write than it should've. I've barely written anything in the last year, and actually finishing any story is harder than starting it up. I've had health struggles and a lot of distractions, but this year, I plan to write a massive amount of Portal-related stories. Thanks to my partner for being a beta reader. <3


End file.
